In the 16-point win against Kansas State on Saturday, Iowa State’s thoughts of improved team chemistry from a year ago were vindicated.

The No. 25 ISU women’s basketball team defeated Kansas State 87-71 on Saturday in Hilton Coliseum to claim third place in the Big 12. At this time last season, the Cyclones (17-5, 8-4 Big 12) were 5-7 in Big 12 play with a mood of desperation.

“Last year, we were trying to salvage something,” said ISU coach Bill Fennelly. “It was not looking really good in a lot of ways and we tried to figure out a way to really take February and make it its own season.

“But now, February is an addition to where we already are and what the possibilities are. [The team is] more mature,” Fennelly said. “The vibe is a lot different on a daily basis.”

Iowa State was led by a career-high 25 points from forward Hallie Christofferson and a first-half effort of 20 points and 12 rebounds by forward Chelsea Poppens.

Poppens finished the game with 22 points and 18 rebounds en route to surpassing former Cyclone Megan Taylor as the second all-time leader in career rebounds at Iowa State with 979 at this point in her career.

Point guard Nikki Moody finished the game with 9 points, 13 assists and just two turnovers. Moody tied a career-high in assists on Saturday and felt like the Cyclones could do no wrong to start the game.

“I felt like the first half was amazing,” Moody said of her team leading 51-29 at the break. “We did everything that we could possibly do on defense and offense, and in the second half, I felt like we could have improved on a lot things, like our urgency.”

While the Wildcats (12-11, 3-8) attempted to make a run at the Cyclones in the second half, Kansas State was no match for Iowa State on the blocks. The Cyclones recorded 29 assists as a team and held an advantage in points in the paint 40-26.

Poppens believes her team’s ability to actually take advantage of the matchup down low shows a chemistry that Iowa State just didn’t seem to have last year in Big 12 games.

“We all have each others’ backs, we all pick each other up and we don’t hang our heads and point fingers,” Poppens said. “It relates to how well we’re doing this year. We have a lot of talent and we’re putting it to use. We don’t care who scores the points, we want each other to have a good time out there.”

Fennelly felt the game on Saturday was unique in regards to his team tying a season-high 87 points.

With only two days to prepare for Kansas State, Fennelly said his team’s maturity is something he hasn’t seen for a while because of the way it was able to execute the game plan of looking to the posts to score.

“They show up every day, they’re joking around and I think they truly want each other to be successful,” Fennelly said of his team. “And we talk all the time about the ‘Iowa State way,’ and I think all 11 players believe in the ‘Iowa State way.’ I think they know when that happens, everyone benefits. Everyone.”